Since 2015 the Rotary Club of Ludlow has been able to invest over £30,000 in 60 local community projects. Following a gap of 2 years when fund raising has been difficult due to Covid restrictions, we were delighted in 2022 to be able to restart investing in our community.
On Tuesday May 24th at Ashford Carbonel Village Hall, the Club awarded further grants approaching a total of £5,000 to a wide range of community projects in and around Ludlow. These included projects involving primary schools, a sewing group, Men’s Sheds, horticulture, Guides and Scouts and in doing so support for some of the most vulnerable in our community, not just in Ludlow but also in across South Shropshire.
The 10 successful applicants were 1st Ludlow Scout Group, Cleobury Mortimer Horticultural Society, Clun Valley Sewing Group, Cleobury Mortimer Men’s Shed, Crossroads Together, a young carers support group based in Craven Arms, Girlguiding Ludlow, Ludlow Men’s Shed, Ludlow Primary School, Rocksprings Choir and a project taking engineering into schools called South Shropshire Engineering Ambassadors.
Our particular thanks go to our team of judges, headed up by Rotarian Barry Forrester ably assisted by Nicky Kershaw, Sue Rew and John Aitken with Master of Ceremonies, Rotarian Michael Symonds ensuring very thing ran smoothly. Also, our thanks to Ashford Carbonel Village Hall for the use of their delightful building and for opening the bar!
In closing the evening, the President of the club, Karen May-Wilcox, said “These occasions bring home the amount of unseen but dedicated volunteering which goes on in our communities, and it’s good that the Rotary Club of Ludlow is able to recognise and applaud it in this small way.”
Ludlow Rotary Club is delighted to confirm that Ludlow Dog Day is going ahead on Sunday July 24th. For more detail including online tickets, please visit www.ludlowdogday.org.uk
RESULTS and FEEDBACK
Clun Valley Sewing Group
Dear Rotary Club:
We wanted to let you know what your kind grant has enabled us to do. We were very lucky to receive a £500 grant from you and this money has provided all the raw material we need to deliver over 50 kits to women and girls in Ethiopia. The kits were delivered by a small charity called For Ethiopia by Doctor Tigist who has strong connections with the region. Having money in the bank has allowed us to take advantage of some price reductions from our suppliers meaning we have been able to deliver more kits for ever pound spent. We have since been able to commit to deliver a further 30 kits to the same destination and your grant money helped to buy the raw materials for this too.
We have attached some photos which show the joy the kits bring to the women and girls who receive them. There also photos of our team working hard and learning new skills, as well as having fun and making new friends.
Your kind donation has made a tangible different to our team as well as those who receive the kits.
Sincerely,
Tracey & Debi
Ludlow Mens Shed
With a clatter of tables and chairs Ashford Carbonel village hall was quickly cleared last night and we missed the opportunity to thank the panel of the Rotary Cares awards.
Could you kindly pass on the thanks from Ludlow Men’s Shed (a project of Hands Together Ludlow) for the fabulous award which will help us significantly when we move into to larger premises.
Thanks once again, David Burton, Voluntary Co-ordinator – 25/05/22.
South Shropshire Engineers
I would be most grateful if you would kindly convey, on behalf of South Shropshire Engineering Ambassadors, our most grateful thanks to Ludlow Rotary Cares, the Rotary Club Committee and the adjudication panel for the most generous grant that we were awarded at last Tuesday’s ceremony. This will make an immense difference to the activities that we provide for our local schools, not just this year but next as well. I confirm we will be more than happy to provide your committee with feedback on how the money has been spent, with photographs, and how the children have benefitted. In fact, we would like to invite any Rotary Club members who might be interested to join us at this year’s Goblin car race meet which is being held at the Curborough Race Track near Lichfield on Wed. 8 June – details are on the following website Staffordshire Goblins | Greenpower. We will have six schools from south Shropshire competing at the event.
With kind regards Jim (chairman South Shropshire Engineers) 28/05/2022.
March 2023 – SSEA have very kindly shared their annual report with us and attached is ca copy. It makes great reading and everyone at SSEA should be congratulated for the inspirational work they do with young people in South Shropshire. They are laying the foundation for the next generation of engineers. SSEA Report
Girl Guiding Ludlow
On behalf of the members of Girlguiding Ludlow, I should like to thank you and the Ludlow branch of Rotary International for the very generous grant of £500 you gave us for our equipment store.
After the two years of lockdown our finances are drastically depleted, as, although we continued to offer almost a full programme, either by Zoom during full lockdown, or out of doors when that was allowed, we didn’t charge the usual weekly subscription. As our National membership fee (our largest outgoing) was paid on 22nd February 2020, but we went into lockdown only six weeks later, unit funds were very low for the whole two years.
Most units charged only £2.50 for a session prior to the pandemic, so we have remained a possible option for even the most disadvantaged. Since the pandemic, with all the associated rises in rent and resource,s we have had to raise that to £3, and that has meant that much of our reserves have had to be used to support those members who can’t even afford that fee.
I think that for the next few years we are likely to find greater demand for our services, as many parents find they can’t offer their children such a wide range of activities. The fact that all our leaders are volunteers means we can keep costs down while offering a dynamic programme, and that will help families budgeting diminishing incomes.
Your generous grant will go towards allowing us to keep our equipment in the best condition possible, so that we can continue to offer our members exciting out of doors activities without having to spend money replacing it, and we are very grateful to you for enabling us to do so.
Judith Ellis, District Commissioner, Girlguiding Ludlow 8/6/22
Rockspring Choir
Many thanks for your generous grant. It is much appreciated.
From all our members. May 2022
Ludlow Mens Shed
Following a generous grant from Ludlow Rotary Club great progress was made by Ludlow Men’s Shed in moving into larger premises. The grant was essential for us to acquire equipment and to install electrical supply to the equipment. Our membership has now grown to 35 and we anticipate reaching 50 by the summer – we are now open Mon-Fri from 10am to 3 pm
Our huge thanks to the great folks at Ludlow Rotary Club!
David Burton, Voluntary Co-ordinator
A Hands Together Ludlow project. January 2023
First Ludlow Scouts – We bought the two tents for the Scouts and the flower planter for the younger people some time ago but with snow on the ground it is not the weather for camping or growing. We will be using the tents in April and the planter on March I would think. I will send photos of them in use when the temperature rises above 0!
Philip Sandell, 1st Ludlow Scouts
South Shropshire Engineers – Sufficient to say that we have had a most successful year which included taking the six of our local schools, with their Goblin cars, to the race meet at Curborough race track in June (though sadly they won no prizes), as well as taking a bus load of children from three other schools to the Enginuity museum at Ironbridge. The generous award by Rotary made this all possible. The photos are of one of the Goblins under construction at Newcastle school back in the Spring, and ready to start racing at Curborough. With kind regards Jim Halcro-Johnston.
Cleobury Mortimer Horticultural Society
Learning to Grow Food. “This runs from January to July 2023, so we have only just begun to put it into action and I am attaching the brief for the 2023 competition that I am just about to send out to the nurseries, primary schools and the all-age special school within Cleobury Country so they can opt in. Best wishes Flo”
Cleobury Mortimer Mens Shed –
Our apologise for the delay in responding to your request for an update. Subsequent to the award of this grant we received further professional advice that the primary cause of the issue of condensation was the absence of ventilation in the shed. After struggling to get quotes from the market (often work below a certain scale appears to result in disinterest from trades), I am pleased to report we can begin this work & have the walls adapted and ventilation units installed. The Trustees have approved a quote from a local professional for £300 of this grant money to proceed with the work. We plan to review the situation thereafter and use any remainder of the funds awarded to take any other measures to maximise condensation mitigation in alignment with the grant purpose (originally we thought improved insulation /sealing of roof space was the solution prior to the above subsequent advice).
Kind regards Peter Blackburn Chair CMMS
Updated 28/05/2023